More than £15,000 raised in memory of mum-to-be Kirsty

Thatcham woman and unborn twins died after seizure on Christmas Eve 2015

Tue, 17 Jan 2017

Reporter:

Dan Cooper

Contact:

01635 886632

MORE than £15,000 has been raised to improve awareness of epilepsy after the tragic death of a heavily pregnant Thatcham woman on Christmas Eve 2015.

Popular Kirsty Walker was just eight weeks away from giving birth to twin girls when tragedy struck.

Despite the best efforts of paramedics, who performed an emergency caesarean, Miss Walker’s seizure – caused by her epilepsy – also claimed the lives of her unborn twins.

Following her daughter’s death, Miss Walker’s mother, Debbie, said she wanted more people to become aware of epilepsy and what to do in the event of a seizure to prevent other families going through the same pain.

Over the past 12 months, she has made television appearances, attended talks and spoken openly about the condition.

Almost £11,000 has been raised through the ‘Remembering Kirsty Walker’ JustGiving page.

Tadley Rugby Club, where Kirsty’s father, Ady, is a player, provided its facilities free of charge for several fundraising functions throughout 2016.

The club also recently presented a cheque for £2,250 and has unveiled a bench with three stars on it – in memory of Miss Walker and her twin girls.

Mrs Walker said: “This last year has been hard, we’ve been up and down but we have tried to keep focussed.

“Since Kirsty’s death we have had so much support and people we don’t even know, from all over the world, have been donating and contacting us to say they have heard about what happened.

“I’ve had messages from Australia, Cyprus, America.

“I just want to say a big thank you to everyone.

“It is a comfort to know that people are being made aware of epilepsy through Kirsty’s story.”

Miss Walker grew up in Burghfield Common with her two sisters, Cheryl and Saffron, and attended The Willink School before moving to Thatcham.

After leaving school, she worked at The Body Shop and did courses on wedding makeup and later worked as a PA to the director of education at Capita in Reading.

She was engaged to her partner Kris Smith and wanted to get married in Christmas 2016.

After finding out Miss Walker was pregnant with twins, the pair decided they wanted to wait until New Year’s Eve 2015 to find out the gender.